Moved slightly or shifted position, usually with difficulty; past tense of 'budge'.
From Old French 'bouger,' derived from Latin 'bullire' meaning 'to boil' or 'to bubble,' which evolved to mean 'to move' or 'to stir.' The connection suggests the bubbling motion of movement.
It's fascinating that 'budge' comes from a word meaning 'to boil'—imagine the bubbling action as the most primitive form of movement, and you can see how language captures physical intuitions about motion!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.